1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing device, an application activation method, an application activation program, and a display unit for a computer, capable of activating prescribed applications used in the computer from either of plural power supply states of the computer including a power off state, a hibernation state or a standby state, for instance.
2. Description of the Related Art
In information processing devices such as personal computers (hereinafter referred to as PCs), etc., there has been known one equipped with an application activation device that is capable of activating, from among a plurality of available applications, only specified applications such as, for example, mailers, internet browsers, etc., from either of power supply states of a computer including a power off state, a hibernation state and a standby state, by one-touch operation.
Such an information processing device is provided, for example, with an application button for the activation of an application, so that the preparation for activation of the application is started at once by pressing the application button.
However, the application activation device as mentioned above requires the following procedure. That is, by a user pressing the application button, an operating system (hereinafter referred to as an OS) is first booted and the application is then launched or activated. Accordingly, the user has to wait for a considerable time from the time the application button is pressed until the time the application is executed. However, in any known devices as hitherto proposed, no indication is made during such a time so as to notify the user of the preparation for activation of the application being performed. Thus, the user might become uneasy as to whether the preparation for activation of the application is actually being carried out.
On the other hand, in the case of a specific application in the form of a television application (hereinafter referred to as a TV application) that enables television programs to be displayed on a computer screen, it is known that the above-mentioned activation preparation time is intended to be shortened to reduce the user's waiting time to a substantial extent by providing a special OS for booting only the TV application, separately from and in addition to another OS generally used with PCs for execution of many application programs. In this case, however, there is another problem that it becomes costly because of the provision of the additional OS dedicated for the TV application separately from the general OS.